That's Not All Folks!

But, Norton said, thermal transfer's niche is in print-and-apply labels. And while thermal transfer prints on many different substrates, the cost to replace consumables like ribbons is very high and the speeds are much slower than inkjet, he said.

Laser ablation is taking some business from inkjet, said Jason Oliver, director of marketing and new business development at Jetrion. "In recent years, laser ablation has taken market share from inkjet, primarily due to the elimination of consumable costs," he said. "With no consumables like ink required and only the infrequent cost of laser replacement, laser ablation has become widely accepted."